“The terror has calmed down now, at year 10,” laughs Erin Karcher, owner of popular lesbian bar Arcana Bar and Lounge in downtown Durham. “But it felt super risky [to open a bar] at the time, and it was terrifying until we had already been open for a year.”
Karcher opened Arcana with former business partner Lindsey Andrews in December 2015, after Andrews approached Karcher, one summer night, with the idea of opening their own bar. It would be a tarot card cocktail bar, a space unlike any other in Durham.
“Lindsey and I definitely wanted to have a bar that was queer inclusive and LGBTQT friendly, and particularly a place that felt safe and welcoming to women,” Karcher said of their initial vision.
The pair had plenty of hospitality experience between them, but neither had run a business before. Still, they had confidence that the bar would succeed, leaning heavily on Google and other friends in the industry to figure things out. A decade later, it’s safe to say they’ve figured things out.
If you’ve been to Arcana, you know it’s a bit tricky to find. The bar is located in the Snow Building downtown, but you’ll need to walk through an alley and down a flight of stairs to get there. The somewhat hidden entrance gives Arcana speakeasy-esque vibes and just adds to the bar’s allure. Those charming vibes have come a long way, though.
“It was pretty much the only thing that we could afford,” said Karcher, explaining that the space’s “ugly gray carpet” and “blinking fluorescent lights” had made it unappealing to other prospective tenants. The two got to work revamping the basement bar to make it look like what you’ll find today—an inviting, welcoming, and cozy watering hole and gathering place that’s become a staple in the LGBTQT community in Durham.
From the beginning, Arcana has been known for its wide range of events. Karcher said some might recall their early ‘super secret dance parties’ that turned the space into ”an underground oasis for all the Durham nightlife hounds who prefer sweaty cellars and warehouses to spacious rooms with bottle service,” as Brian Howe wrote in 2021, before the pandemic brought the tradition to a halt.
Dance parties aside, you’ll still find something on the calendar every night these days—tarot readings, burlesque and comedy shows, Queer Dungeons & Dragons playing nights, DJ sets; a Queer Craft Night.
“I actually don’t want to run a business whose primary goal is to serve people alcohol and get them intoxicated,” Karcher said.
While she acknowledges that getting people to drink, whether it be something alcoholic or something from their extensive non-alcoholic menu, is how the bar makes money, she says it’s the programming that really draws people in and makes Arcana stand out from all of the other bars in Durham.
“I don’t think that we could have survived without our programming,” she added.
In 2023, Karcher became the sole owner of Arcana when Andrews left to start Night School Bar, a similarly unorthodox bar space. While Arcana had always been known around town as an inclusive and queer-friendly bar, Karcher’s employees pushed her to lean into the identity more.
“My youngest employee, Meg, asked, ‘Can we be gayer now?’” Karcher said. “And I was like—yeah, let’s do that.” The bar launched one of its most popular events called Dyke Night soon after, a mix-and-mingle type themed event each month to embrace its identity. But Karcher wanted more. She applied to be an official lesbian bar through The Lesbian Bar Project. In early 2024, Arcana became the 32nd recognized lesbian bar in the country and has remained the only bar of its kind in North Carolina.
“It really matters that we’re on the [lesbian bar] list. It really kind of makes the whole state seem a little bit safer and queerer and is part of a contributing force that helps indicate Durham is definitely a little bit of a safe pocket.”
erin karcher, owner of arcana
“It really matters that we’re on the [lesbian bar] list,” said Karcher. “It really kind of makes the whole state seem a little bit safer and queerer and is part of a contributing force that helps indicate Durham is definitely a little bit of a safe pocket.”
Arcana officially celebrated its 10th birthday earlier in December and shows no signs of slowing down as it enters its next decade.
“I want to deepen our involvement in the community,” Karcher said of her plans for the future, “and maintain a safe space where people feel safe and free.”
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